Keto and HIIT...How do you manage

rezart

Everyone,
I am doing keto and do HIIT, however, as I just started I am thinking I still have some reserves which get me through the workouts. How do you manage <30g of carbs and HIIT without feeling like you are about to die

Cadori

You will likely need to wait 6+ weeks until you're fat adapted.
Once you are, salt up pre-workout.

Expect your workouts to suffer a bit as you switch from carbs as fuel to fat as fuel. However, once you do, you can even work out fasted.

Freischuetz

i can second the advice from Cadori, works well!

tcunbeliever

if I start to feel woozy during a workout, I put some salt under my tongue

cstehansen

You will have to become fully adapted, but here is a recent study that shows you do NOT need carbs for cross-fit, which, in reality is HIIT.

http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/6/1/1/htm

anubis609

HIIT is designed to make you feel like you're dying, tabata being the pinnacle of suck. I mean, that's the point of the acronym: high intensity interval training. If you feel like it's a breeze, you're undercutting the intensity.

That said, you don't "have" to be fat adapted (actually around ~3 weeks: http://caloriesproper.com/long-term-fat-adaptation/) to do HIIT. It's going to suck no matter what. Sure, there's a temporary performance drop, but unless you're a hardcore athlete trying to get the fastest WOD time, don't worry about your performance. What matters is that you're active.

That said, electrolytes become imperative during the adaptation phase. What's referred to as "keto flu" is the shift in substrate usage and with that process comes a dump in electrolytes, especially sodium, as glycogen stores drop off, so you're going to need to increase electrolyte intake to make up for it. If that means >5g of sodium, then so be it. I needed ~9g on average during the adaptation phase just to fight fatigue.